Challenge a department's budget submission before approval
A line-by-line review of a budget request with probing questions, red flags, and a negotiating position.
The prompt
Help me review a department's budget submission and prepare to challenge it.
Department and owner: [DETAILS]
Their submission: [PASTE: line items for this year's request, last year's budget, and last year's actuals]
Their stated rationale: [WHAT they wrote or said]
Company targets or guardrails: [e.g. "opex growth capped at 5%"]
Strategic priorities this department supports: [DETAILS]
Review for:
- Growth vs. last year's actuals (not just last year's budget).
- Run-rate errors: annualizing one-offs, double-counting hires, missing savings from leavers.
- Padding signs: round numbers, large "other" lines, contingency hidden in multiple lines.
- New initiatives without measurable outcomes.
- Spend that does not link to a stated priority.
- Timing: costs front-loaded with no reason.
Return:
1. A table: Line | Requested | Prior actual | Change % | Concern | Question to ask.
2. The 8 most important questions for the review meeting, in order.
3. Three options: approve as is, approve with conditions, or a reduced version with the specific cuts and their impact.
4. A short, respectful opening statement for the meeting.
Stay constructive: the goal is a credible budget, not winning an argument. Do not assume bad faith; flag concerns as questions.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Finance & Accounting prompts
What to fill in
- DETAILS
- WHAT they wrote or said
- e.g. "opex growth capped at 5%"
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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